“Sounds as if they were angry about something,” he told himself. More than once he heard Samatan’s voice rising above the rest, as if he were making some sort of speech. He wondered if it could be possible that the European spies had somehow inspired these natives with hate for all Americans.
“That would be bad,” he thought. “It might spell disaster.” He resolved to cultivate Samatan’s acquaintance to find out, if possible, just what his grievance was. Then he might put things to rights.
Maybe some superstition is connected with the steel ball, Johnny reflected. When you are among primitive people you never know quite what to expect.
That night the green arrow blinked again. Johnny saw it, shortly after midnight. The boat was closer in, now, and he could make out the separate lights of the arrow as they flashed, up there on the hillside. If there was another light out at sea, it must have been far away—or too low to be visible. He caught no sight of it.
When the arrow appeared, Johnny got busy at once. With small circles, like coins in a row, he sketched an arrow, in pencil.
From the tip of the flashing arrow to the other end, there were thirteen lights. Besides, there were two lights slanting back on each side, at the tip. These four helped form the head of the arrow. Four others, in pairs, made the feather end.
As he watched intently through powerful binoculars loaned him by the professor, Johnny noted that the thirteen lights blinked separately, but the eight which comprised the head and feather of the arrow, blinked in unison.
“Those eight lights must stand for a period,” he concluded. “The thirteen are letters, or code numbers. I wonder how they work.”
For some time, as on that other occasion, Johnny recorded the winking and blinking of the lights. When at last the green arrow became dark, he took a turn about the deck, then settled down to the task of trying to figure that code. Dawn found him still figuring, but seemingly no nearer the solution.
“Dumb!” he exploded at last, as he crammed the notebook into his pocket and went to breakfast. When he returned to the deck late that afternoon he found Doris and Dave working over some notes.